Everything you need to know about covering your valuables

If you moved overseas and could only pack one suitcase, what would you bring with you? Maybe it’s your engagement ring, that Nikon camera, or the antique watch you got from Grandpa. 

We know how important these things are to you, which is why we offer extra cover for them within  your Contents insurance policy.

• Why do I need to add extra cover for some of my valuable items?
• Which items are eligible for extra cover?
• Which items aren’t eligible for extra cover?
• How can I add extra cover for my valuable items? 
• What specific documentation do I need to submit, and why does my insurer need it anyway?  
• So which should I submit— a receipt or an appraisal?
• How Lemonade approves your extra cover

TL;DR

• In your base Contents policy, all your items worth less than £2,000 are automatically covered. 
• In order to protect your items worth over £2,000, you’ll need to add extra cover for each item individually.
• When you first sign up for your Lemonade policy, you’ll be given the option to secure 14 days of temporary extra cover for the items you mentioned during your quote. But to make sure that this extended protection carries on beyond those two weeks, you’ll need to submit the proper documentation.
• Once your valuable items have been approved and added to your policy, they will be subject to the same cover your base policy offers. If you would like to have them protected against theft away from home, or against damage that was (unintentionally) your fault. You would need to have the Theft & Loss, and Accidental Damage add-ons included as well.

Why do I need to add extra cover for some of my valuable items?

Let’s cut through the gobbledygook of insurance jargon. Adding extra cover for your valuables means something pretty simple: having your insurance company add a valuable item to your policy so it can enjoy that additional protection – covering it for its full value.

So if you’d like to add extra cover for your jewellery, that means it’ll be defended against a wider array of bad stuff that could happen to it. This way, it can be replaced or repaired at full value in case of robbery, burglary, or vandalism.

In your base Contents policy, all your items worth less than £2,000 are automatically covered. 

In order to protect your items worth over £2,000, you’ll need to add extra cover for each item individually. With this extra cover, your valuable items will be covered to their full value, up to £20,000 per event. 

Which items are eligible for extra cover?

Generally speaking, you can add extra cover for the following items:

• Jewellery (up to £10,000)
• Bicycles (up to £10,000)
• Cameras (up to £10,000)
• Musical instruments (up to £10,000)
• Electronic devices (up to £10,000)
• Other (up to £10,000)

A couple of things to keep in mind, though. You can cover multiple items from each category – say, two rings, a watch, an antique painting, and your new shiny guitar – but the sky isn’t the limit. If you have enough musical instruments for an orchestra, or an entire Tiffany’s collection in your jewellery box, your extra cover can’t necessarily insure all of them. The maximum combined limit for all of your valuable items per event is £20,000. 

Which items aren’t eligible for extra cover?

We only cover your personal items. This means that we can’t cover the items you use for business purposes or professional use. For example, we can cover home office equipment that belongs to you, but can’t cover any business equipment that’s owned by your company or the company you work for, such as your work laptop. 

Let’s say you do some professional photography as a side gig. You wouldn’t be able to add extra cover for your professional camera, and will want to look into business insurance through a different carrier. 

Another scenario to consider: If your spouse or significant other is the one in possession of the ring you’d like to add, they will need to be added to your policy as an additional household member, assuming they live with you at the insured address. However, if they do not live with you, then they will need to add the jewellery to their own insurance policy to ensure coverage.

How can I add Extra Cover for my valuable items?

Protecting your valuable items with Lemonade Contents insurance is easy

• Start your personalised quote on Lemonade.com/uk
• Once you reach the “Valuable Items” part of the quote, add details about the valuable items you’d like to cover and their value
• Finalise your Contents insurance quote
• Be careful: This doesn’t mean that your valuable items are covered. You’ll now need to submit receipts and proof of ownership by sending these documents to our Customer Experience team at [email protected] 
• Our Customer Experience team will get back to you ASAP, and they’ll let you know the status of your request via email.

What specific documentation do I need to submit, and why does my insurer need it anyway?  

If these covered valuables get lost, stolen, or damaged, we’ll need to know what they’re actually worth. 

A deep dive into the documents needed

All documentation is not created equal. The right combination of paperwork will make our underwriters smile in delight—and who doesn’t love making an underwriter smile?

First, there are receipts. That’s simple enough, eh? But a few caveats:

• We typically don’t accept eBay receipts, since we need a receipt from an official retailer in order to verify the market replacement cost for your stuff. (That’s what we’d pay in the event of a future claim.)
• Since we need to determine the current replacement value of the item, we may not be able to accept receipts which are more than 5 years old.
• If a name is listed on the receipt, it needs to match one of the names listed on your insurance policy.
• The receipt should include the date of purchase, and the name of the store where it was purchased.
• The receipt should also include all pricing info, and a full description of the item itself. For example, “14k White Gold Engagement Ring with Side Stones,” as opposed to simply “Ring.” 

We understand that not everyone holds on to receipts though. This is where appraisals come into play. Appraisals are an alternative way to confirm an item’s value, and are especially useful in the case of belongings that wouldn’t have a store receipt – like that engagement ring that you inherited from your great grandmother. An appraisal should ideally include the following:

• Name of the insured or the other household member
• Address of the insured
• Date of the appraisal (must be from within the past 5 years)
• Description of the item, which matches the photographs we have of it
• The appraised value of the item
• The appraiser’s signature (not an e-signature)
• Info identifying the store where the appraisal was completed, preferably on company or store letterhead. We unfortunately can’t accept online appraisals, so they’ll need to be done in person. 

So which should I submit— a receipt or an appraisal?

That really depends on what kind of item we’re talking about. For instance, you’d likely have a store receipt for bicycles, camera equipment, or jewellery you purchased recently. But if that jewellery is a well-worn family heirloom, then you’d want to obtain and submit an appraisal (even if you were able to find the original paperwork, we wouldn’t be able to accept a receipt from 1902).

What about artwork? Either a receipt or an appraisal might make sense, depending on the circumstances. We’re happy to answer specific questions and work through what documentation we need for your individual case.

That said, there are a few things to keep in mind for specific extra cover categories.

• Jewellery: We don’t accept “summation of appraisal” reports or Statements of Value (SOV). For any jewellery setting that contains diamonds or other stones, the receipt or appraisal must indicate the total price of the entire jewellery piece itself, not just the stones.

• Bicycles and camera equipment: You probably have a receipt for these items. But if not, we can also accept a screenshot and website link to a retailer who is currently selling the same item. Make sure that the retail link you give us pertains to an item that is of the same, or most similar make/model, and year. You’ll also have to include that item’s serial and model numbers.

• Musical instruments: If you don’t have a store receipt for that sax or vintage jazz bass, we can also accept a signed appraisal from your local music shop.

How Lemonade approves your extra cover

Extra Cover is not a compulsory part of your base insurance policy, and so the decision of whether to accept a certain item for this cover is up to our underwriting team. That said, having clear, correct documentation to submit will only help your chances of getting your valuable items approved!

When you first sign up for your Lemonade policy, you’ll be given the option to secure 14 days of temporary extra cover for the items you mentioned during your quote. But to make sure that this extended protection carries on beyond those two weeks, you’ll need to submit the proper documentation.

This is important. If you’re getting Extra Cover for an engagement ring, a painting, and a violin—that’s going to mean three separate submissions of documentation. You can share this with us by sending these documents to our Customer Experience team ([email protected]).

Once your valuable items have been approved and added to your policy, they will be subject to the same cover your base policy offers. If you would like to have them protected against theft away from home, or against damage that was (unintentionally) your fault. You would need to have the Theft & Loss, and Accidental Damage add-ons included as well.

Have more questions about extra cover for your valuable items? Open up your Lemonade app and ask Maya. Or, send us an email over at [email protected] and our team will get back to you as soon as possible.